KUCHING: Sarawak is hydrogen ready and it is opening its frontiers to help traditional industries become more sustainable.
Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg asserted that Sarawak is a rising tiger in the renewable energy arena.
“When the world was in various states of flux during the pandemic, Sarawak developed our Post COVID-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030 where we specifically highlighted renewable energy as a cornerstone in our 10-year plan.
“The PCDS 2030 is more than just our internal blueprint to shape our economy, but a multi-faceted approach towards long term economic, social and environmental sustainability; built upon our aspirations for collaboration with policy makers and private sectors both within and beyond our humble island.
“Therefore, when I say, ‘Sarawak is hydrogen ready’, I am essentially saying that the Sarawakian Hydrogen Economy is at its heart; building an ecosystem where our resources are in abundance, the infrastructure is sufficient, the expertise is available, and the supply and value chains are well established,” he said.
He was delivering a keynote address themed “Accelerating the Global Hydrogen Economy: The Sarawakian Way” at the World Hydrogen 2022 Summit and Exhibition at Rotterdam, Netherlands on Monday (May 9).
Abang Johari said that Sarawak wanted to be a region for clean, green investment, and the global low carbon industries serviced by Sarawak supply chains.
“The winds of change are high as they say, and as production scales expand and demands for alternative energy sources increase, it is foreseeable in our global future that the costs of hydrogen production will drop to possibly equivalent to LNG or less.
“This will be a game changer for the economic landscape of Sarawak and many developing countries,” he stressed.
The Premier added that Sarawak is currently Malaysia’s largest provider of renewable energy as well as for part of Indonesian Borneo in West Kalimantan, and 70 percent of the total generation mix is from its hydropower resources, which can be harnessed to produce low carbon hydrogen.
“This provides an ideal setting for enabling the hydrogen economy in Sarawak and hence hydrogen research study was initiated as pioneering steps to explore, innovate and produce green hydrogen as a solution for the commercial and public application of hydrogen and fuel cell technology,” he said.
He mentioned that using renewable energy such as green hydrogen produced from hydropower resources, green ammonia could be produced, and through such innovation and exploration of green hydrogen to make key impact in energy transition, Sarawak has developed new effective strategies to reduce the reliance on fossil fuel and lower carbon emissions by introducing clean fuel (green hydrogen) as alternative fuel for the public transportation sector.
Forging ahead, he said, Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB), was currently exploring the exciting frontiers of producing green hydrogen as a solution for the commercial and public application of hydrogen and fuel cell technology.
“NEXO Fuel Cell Vehicles are a riveting component under our auto expansion strategy with Hyundai, tying in with the hydrogen buses in the latest forays towards greening Sarawak’s public transportation.
“On top of that, SEB has successfully established and commissioned Southeast Asia’s first Integrated Hydrogen Production Plant and Refuelling Station in 2018, which is able to produce 130kg of hydrogen per day at close to 100 percent purity, and serves as a refuelling station for Sarawak’s hydrogen fuel cell electric buses, capable of supporting and fully refuelling up to five fuel cell buses and ten fuel cell cars per day.
“With this pilot hydrogen facility, Sarawak is a step towards building a green energy future for the transportation sector for Sarawak and the Asia Pacific region. It has now served as a refuelling station for Sarawak’s first hydrogen fuel cell electric buses,” he said.
Abang Johari added that with evidence showing how climate change impacts human wellbeing and planetary health, it is more evident than ever that the country must accelerate the global transition to clean energy, limit further warming and reach “net zero” emissions as soon as possible.
